Leading Into Sandwell Valley and follows the Beacon Way past Swan Pool, then crosses Park Lane past Forge Mill Lake best part of the walk Plenty of birds to see around the lakes and seats for a break to sit and watch on a good day...

Nigel Cull

From the centre of Oldbury, where there are bus stops and shops, we walk past the railway station, then down a road between the car park, Network Rail and the police station. We rejoin the route from the next road bridge, a ramp down to the towpath....

Hiking Historian

This is a great route, but I feel I need to fail it because of a towpath closure which has existed for ten months and Canal and River Trust have still not given a date for reopening. See Oldsme Two for the diverted route, and further details....

Mary Oz

There were some interesting buildings on leaving Oldbury - some classic municipal buildings including The Big House, and the Art Deco factory building opposite Sandwell and Dudley railway station (on the West Coast main line). After a while I walked through Galton Valley, all very interesting with its double level railway station, high bridges and short canal tunnel....

Mary Oz

Wonderful canal heritage (dual canal lines built 60 years apart, rope marks on bridges etc), really easy route to follow, surprisingly peaceful, excellent graffiti....

Mary Oz

Here I had to go up a ridged brick slope to reach the old canal line (built by Brindley). I passed below Galton Valley Canal Museum and under the next bridge, and left the towpath up shallow steps to the old canal line again and out onto the road....

Mary Oz

This plot is horribly inaccurate and involves either guesswork, or flying....

Mary Oz

A good route, which, like most Birmingham routes, uses the canal system to great effect....

Hiking Historian

From the centre of Oldbury, where there are bus stops and shops, we walk past the railway station, then down a road between the car park, Network Rail and the police station. We rejoin the route from the next road bridge, a ramp down to the towpath....

Hiking Historian

In the first mile if or so you walk through Birmingham's bustling city centre and then turns into a quieter area where it takes you to the canal path. You pass some of Birmingham's attractions such as the Sealife Centre and Birmingham's iconic Arena. The canal path is well used and quite busy as a commuter route so it was busy with cyclists, runners and walkers which is something to look out for....

Lara

Just finished riding my bike on this route. It is pretty straightforward, mostly flat and has a very short stretch within a park which is not paved. Fairly enjoyable and accessible otherwise....

Urzum

After leaving the start in Smethwick (photo 1), a footbridge with steps (photo 2) seems the only way to get to the canal towpath. The route is quickly regained and takes you under the tall M5 bridge (photo 9), before soon arriving at the bridge to take you to the opposite side of the canal (photo 10)....

Steve Litchfield

I completed this walk yesterday walking northwards from Smethwick....

Steve Litchfield

The route then takes you diagonally over the M5, down the wonderfully named Penncricket Lane, then over the A4123 Wolverhampton Road and eventually into Barnford Hill Park. The route through the park takes you past a high point which is worth the slight detour and allows you to survey the Black Country landscape. Upon leaving the park, the route re-joins the roads and takes you through Queen's Head and Londonderry. As we surveyed the scene, we traced the route that the car took to end up in such an unlikely position by looking at the trail of destruction, and deduced if we had been crossing that spot just a few minutes before, we would likely have been in the path of the speeding vehicle. Do look out for the collection of Lions heads on Londonderry Lane, and the sight of the Blue Gates Hotel (now just a pub) in Smethwick....

Steve Litchfield

A really enjoyable route along the canal, we walked as a group from Brum to Smethwick after work, great to have the vast majority of an urban route off road....

Dan Barron

Completed this walk today from Smethwick heading east into Brum. The trickiest part of the whole walk has to be the footbridge at Smethwick as it is steps only and has no wheeled access....

Steve Litchfield

Although this route is very much in the heart of the Black Country, it was a delightful walk along the canal that was for the most part very quiet. Previous reviewers noted the temporary closure of the footpath between Spon Lane and Steward Aqueduct; as of mid-September it’s still closed, and shows no indications of reopening any time soon. The diversion along the older (pre-Telford) canal was however very easy to follow, and did not detract from an enjoyable afternoon....

swebbews

We started this walk from The Mailbox in Birmingham, so it was entirely along the canal towpath apart from the very last part into Smethwick. It seems unbelievable to be so close to the centre of Britain’s second city while enjoying so much peace and quiet and seeing ducks, geese, moorhens and herons. There is so much to like about this walk....

swebbews

The tow path was temporarily closed between Steward Aqueduct and Spon Lane due to a crumbling wall, but you can easily rejoin the path at Spon Lane....

Saira

It's a beautiful, interesting route that follows the Birmingham canal all the way to Smethwick!...

Saira

Having left the High Street via the footbridge across the main road you wander through the residential streets of north Smethwick which become increasingly industrial before, within sight of the West Brom Ground (the highest above sea level in England) you turn left to join the greenway that runs alongside the Metro (tram) line. (I have walked this path dozens of times and this was the first time it had flooded) The final section through suburban Great Barr avoids the main road for as long as possible....

David Sanderson

The walk out of Oldbury is fairly functional along the main road but having the passed Sandwell and Dudley Railway Station (direct trains to Edinburgh and London, not just local stations) you walk down the side of the car park and follow a track to the towpath of the main branch of the Birmingham Canal. In 4km, 3 of which are offroad, you access bus routes, 3 railway stations (Galton Bridge is accessible via steps from the canal and Rolfe Street is at the end of the route), wildlife, industrial history (Galton Valley Pumping Station) and it's one of the easiest Slow Ways I've ever had to follow!...

David Sanderson

I can't add anything to the reviews above by Pddys and David - a really good Slow Ways route. Thoroughly enjoyed walking it...

Dave4

Just over half way through, you cross Barnford Hill Park which was a particular highlight for me. The route is across the park is not -the- most direct, but it gave me more opportunity to enjoy it and it was very easy to follow. Saying that, technically one of the next roads, the M5 was the busiest to cross, but to do that all I had to do was follow pavement of the B4169 Oakemoor Road which passes high over it....

David Sanderson

This includes going underneath the M5 and the Spon Lane junction, underneath Smethwick Galton Bridge, through the Summit tunnel, underneath the Summit Bridge, and past the Galton Valley Pumping Station, and some Ironworks bridges....

pddys

The route takes you to the canal via Newhall Street and the edge of the Jewellery Quarter. I had wondered whether it could have been better to seek a more direct route to the canal, maybe via Gas Street Basin but I realised that in the opposite direction, this route gives you access to the pubs, cafes and shops of Newhall Street, Bennetts Hill, New Street and Temple Street which might be very welcome....

David Sanderson

A n unexpectedly scenic route given the urban, industrial areas it traverses. I did this from Birmingham to Smethwick on a very hot day and was surprised to see not only the usual ducks, Canada geese and so forth but a cormorant and a heron. The route is accurately planned, straightforward, easy to follow and very pleasant to walk....

Dave4

Leaving Smethwick you cross the road by Galton Bridge Railway Station and then cross said bridge to cross Galton Valley. A short path brings you out by the traffic lights to cross Kenrick Way....

David Sanderson

It is an excellent, short, safe, straightforward route meeting all of the Slow Ways criteria. It is varied, scenic, safe and accurately plotted. A really good walk...

Dave4

There is a 40m region that has a very narrow kerbed sidewalk - 55cm in width - where using the road surface might be required for mobility vehicles....

Urzum

The route begins close to Galton Valley Pumping Station, now a heritage centre, though it is only open one Saturday per month so worth checking if you want to include a visit as part of your walk....

Alison Thompson